Neeraj Chopra, the trailblazing Indian javelin thrower, is poised to make history once again as he sets his sights on a second Olympic gold medal in Tokyo. His remarkable consistency will be put to the test after a season marred by a nagging adductor injury.
Chopra’s Olympic journey begins on Tuesday with the qualification round, where he is expected to secure a spot in the finals on August 8. A podium finish would make him only the fifth man in Olympic history to defend his javelin title and the first Indian to win two gold medals in an individual event at the Games.
Eric Lemming (Sweden), Jonni Myyra (Finland), Jan Zelezny (Czech Republic), and Andreas Thorkildsen (Norway) are the only athletes to have successfully defended their Olympic javelin gold medals. Chopra, who idolizes Zelezny, will be eager to join this elite group.
Despite competing in just three events this year, the 26-year-old world champion is back in top form. After finishing second in the Doha Diamond League with a season-best throw of 88.36m, Chopra withdrew from the Ostrava Golden Spike as a precautionary measure due to an adductor issue.
He made a strong comeback by winning gold at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Finland with a throw of 85.97m. Chopra later opted out of the Paris Diamond League, emphasizing that it was not part of his competition schedule.
His coach has dismissed concerns about Chopra’s fitness, stating that his adductor is now fully recovered and that he has been training at high intensity. Chopra’s consistency is evident in his record of sending his spear below 85m only twice in 15 competitions since his Tokyo Olympics triumph.
Chopra’s main rivals include Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Jakub Vadlejch (Czech Republic), Germany’s Julian Weber, and former world champion Anderson Peters. Kishore Jena is the other Indian competing in the men’s javelin, but he has struggled to cross the 80m mark since qualifying for the Olympics with an 87.54m throw at the Asian Games last year.
Chopra’s performance is expected to boost the morale of the Indian athletics contingent, which has yet to make a significant impact at the Tokyo Games.
